The King's Reformation

Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9799729
AutoresChristopher Haigh (United Church of Christ, autor correspondente)
Ano2006
Volume121
Fascículo494
Páginas1455-1457
Data de publicação2006-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe English Historical Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0013-8266 • E-ISSN: 1477-4534
EditoraOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ehr/cel297
OpenAlexW2003651784
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10

THERE is a pleasing perversity in George Bernard's approach to the reign of Henry VIII. Any idea that looks like gaining acceptance among historians is in the author's sights. Did Anne Boleyn seek to advance the evangelical cause? No, she did not! Was she attacked by political enemies and framed on false charges? No, she was guilty of multiple adultery and rightly rejected by the king. Did political factions vie for influence over Henry VIII? No, there were no factions and the king was always in charge. Did religious policy shift according to political pressures or diplomatic calculations? No, the king had a consistent and determined policy, and knew exactly what he was doing. Was there a religious reaction, in 1538, or 1539, or 1540? Not at all. In articles, essays and this huge volume, Bernard has argued a coherent case on the nature of Henrician politics and of religious change, encapsulated in the title of the book: it was the king's Reformation, and he was remaking the English Church as he wanted it to be. It is an interesting and plausible argument, and we have been thereabouts before: James Froude redivivus

Argument (complex analysis · English Reformation · Political science · Politics · Protestantism · Reign · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Classics · History · Law · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Religious studies